Bible Commentaries

Genesis 25:27 — Esau. Regarding this sordid sale, Jamieson commented: "Never was any meat, except the forbidden fruit, so dearly bought, as this broth of Jacob!"Robert Jamieson, Jamieson, Faussett, and Brown's Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1961), p. 32. THE EXCURSUS ON KETURAH The reasons which underlie the conviction that Keturah's being the secondary wife of Abraham was an event antedating even his taking Hagar are as follows: (1)    She is called in the Bible, the "concubine,"

Genesis 3:1 — simply no way to know what the serpent was like before the curse. Of course, the whole person of the serpent that appears in this tragic scene also includes a certain identity with Satan himself, as indicated by Paul's reference in 2 Corinthians 11:3, the indication there being that the same serpent who seduced Eve is, in this dispensation, engaged in seducing the Church of Jesus Christ. Also, Satan is called, "The great Dragon, the old serpent, he that is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver

Exodus 20:16 — not to be sworn in, or in some instances, deliberately taking an illegal form of oath that nullified the penalties! Christ superseded this law by another which requires that Christians tell the truth at all times and under all circumstances (Matthew 5:33-37). It is in deference to this that Christians are permitted in courts of law today in this country to "affirm" rather than "swear" as to the truth of their testimony. The principal area of violations concerning this commandment does not concern courts

Zechariah 9 overview — Hailey that, "It seems wise to build one's interpretation of these chapters around the passages that are quoted by Jesus and the New Testament writers."Homer Hailey, Commentary on the Minor Prophets (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1972), p. 366. In passing, we should be conscious of the fact that scholars generally place these chapters (Zechariah 9-14) at a later period in the prophet's life; and the destructive critics have employed every device possible in their efforts to deny the unity

Deuteronomy 28:49-57 — in other Near Eastern texts (patterned after the suzerainty treaties) containing blessings and curses." "For example, in the Code of Hammurabi, the imbalance runs 20 to 1; and in the Lipit-Ishtar laws, the curses outnumber the blessings on a ratio of 3 to 1."K. A. Kitchen, Ancient Orient and the Old Testament (Published in 1966), footnote No. 41, on page 97. In this light, those constant rearrangers and rebuilders of the Bible should keep their hands off Deuteronomy. A terrible feature of this fourth

Mark 13 overview — Topics appearing in this chapter are: Jesus' prophecy of the destruction of the temple (Mark 13:1-2); four disciples inquire as to the time of it and the sign preceding it (Mark 13:3-4); Jesus answers their compound question with (a) a special charge to the apostles (Mark 13:5-13); (b) a specific sign of the destruction of the temple (Mark 13:14-23);

Luke 12:13 — the problems of social injustice by an assault upon established institutions. He did not take the man's part against those who had wronged him. Just as Jesus refused to accept criminal jurisdiction in the case of the woman taken in adultery (John 8:3-11), or take sides in a political problem, as in the question regarding the tribute money (Matthew 22:17), he carefully avoided the snare and the rock upon which so many religious reformers have made shipwreck. Trench summed it up thus, "It was

Romans 16:25-27 — everywhere calls it, of God's purpose of taking in the Gentiles to be his people, under the Messiah, and that without subjecting them to circumcision or the law of Moses. John Locke, Paraphrase and Notes on the Epistles of St. Paul (Boston, Mass., 1832), p. 384. Mystery … in the scriptural frame of reference means a great truth, hidden and unknown for a long while, and at last revealed. Locke's identification of the mystery with God's calling the Gentiles and their acceptance without such

Romans 2:1 — 2), it is taught that: "Abraham sits before the gate of hell, and does not allow that any circumcised Israelite should enter there." Charles Hodge, Epistle to the Romans (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1968), p. 63. So strong was the feeling on circumcision that Paul devoted a special section to it a little later. A whole generation earlier, John the Baptist had warned the Jews against trusting in any such thoughts (Matthew 3:8), but his warning had not been taken

Romans 8:3 — inspiring others with the same spirit and leading all who trust in him to the same obedience from the heart to the law of God. David Lipscomb, A Commentary on the New Testament Epistles (Nashville, Tennessee: The Gospel Advocate Company, 1969), p. 143. In the likeness of sinful flesh … Here is a precise distinction. The apostle did not declare that Jesus came "in" the sinful flesh, but "in the likeness" of it, the significance of this lying in the fact that our Lord's flesh

Galatians 2:15-16 — the best scholarship on earth, and capitalized to emphasize the truth. REGARDING THE TRANSLATION WHICH IS ACCEPTED HERE The teaching set forth in this series of commentaries with regard to justification is advocated fully in my Commentary on Romans 3:22; and the student is referred to that for a great deal of material that cannot be repeated here. Since the publication of that volume in 1973, further scholarly studies by distinguished theologians have fully confirmed the undeniable accuracy of translating

Ephesians 3:1 — Ephesians 1:15; and following several digressions, he was about to resume it here; but he hardly got started before going into another digression on the mystery of Christ. For this cause … The thought will be resumed in these same words in Ephesians 3:14. I Paul … Some radical and irresponsible critics of the New Testament affirm that these words were forged to this epistle by some later author who passed it off as having been written by Paul; but no believer in Christ could possibly have

Philippians 4:2-3 — them had become a problem in the whole church. Boice believed that the shadow of this personal friction falls upon several passages prior to this passage where Paul dealt with it. In Philippians 1:8; Philippians 1:27; Philippians 2:2 and Philippians 3:16, there have already been exhortations to unity and walking by the same rule; but in this passage Paul boldly confronted the difficulty and demanded a reconciliation. Caffin considered the repeated "I exhort" as a probable indication that

Joshua 20:7-9 — Encyclopedia (Chicago: The Howard Severance Company, 1915), p. 1790. that being the original meaning of the word, which later also came to mean "a sanctuary,"F. N. Peloubet, Peloubet's Bible Dictionary (Chicago: The John C. Winston Company, 1925), p. 342. or "sacred place."Merrill F. Unger, Unger's Bible Dictionary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1957), p. 626. It was precisely this word that came to mean the sacred female prostitutes of paganism, the [~qedeshah] and their male counterparts, the [~qedesh];

Hebrews 10:22 — hypocrite can ever really draw near to God. Jesus said, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Matthew 5:8). The Holy Spirit says, "Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life" (Proverbs 4:23). Success is promised the obedient. "And thou shalt find him, when thou searchest after him with all thy heart and with all thy soul" (Deuteronomy 4:29). In the parable of the sower, the seed which produced the good fruit was that which fell

Hebrews 12:2 — is in beholding the Saviour; and just like Peter, who as long as he looked to the Lord walked on the sea, but who diverted his attention and began to sink, so long as Christians keep the Lord in view, they shall prevail over every trial (Matthew 14:30). The author and perfecter of our faith means "captain and perfecter," or as in the KJV, "the author and finisher" of our faith. Christ did not merely preach faith as an obligation for others but was himself a perfect demonstration

Judges 14:15-20 — BETRAYED BY HIS WIFE, SAMSON SLAYS 30 PHILISTINES AND LEAVES WITHOUT CONSUMMATING HIS MARRIAGE "And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they said unto Samson's wife, Entice thy husband, that he may declare unto us the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy father's house with fire; have

Judges 9:1-6 — the oak of Moreh in the vicinity of Shechem that he erected his first altar (Genesis 12:6 f). (2)    It was probably by this oak that Jacob, upon his return from Paddan-aram, compelled his family to bury their false gods (Genesis 35:4). (3)    Jacob here bought a parcel of ground east of the city from the sons of Hamor upon which he pitched his tent and erected an altar which he called "El-Elohe-Israel," i.e., "God, the God of Israel." (Genesis 33:18-20). (4)    It

1 Samuel 12:6-15 — guidance of their true heavenly king (God), all of the great victories of God's people had been achieved. He called attention to the quadruple pattern so characteristic of the Book of Judges: (1) the apostasy of Israel; (2) their consequent oppression; (3) their crying to God for deliverance; and (4) God's sending a deliverer in the person of various judges. Samuel followed no chronological sequence in the things mentioned, but he did conclude the citations by a reference to the deliverance which God

2 Samuel 7:4-7 — here. DID THE JEWISH TEMPLE HAVE GOD'S APPROVAL? The answer to this question is an unqualified negative. If it had been God's will, He would never have destroyed it twice! Jesus Christ referred to the temple as "A den of thieves and robbers" (Matthew 21:13). It was the temple crowd who engineered the crucifixion of Christ and opposed the preaching of the gospel. They were not merely thieves and robbers but liars and murderers as well. Significantly, the Book of Hebrews bypasses and ignores the Jewish